


Sharp Edges Cut Deep

by Solena2



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Asgore (Undertale) Does Not Deal Well With Grief, Canonical Character Death, Chara (Undertale) Is Depressed, Chara (Undertale) Needs a Hug, Gen, One Shot, POV Undyne (Undertale), Pre-Canon, Undyne (Undertale) Is Trying Her Best
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:14:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26675743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Solena2/pseuds/Solena2
Summary: Undyne comforts a friend in their dying moments, and it changes things.
Relationships: Asriel Dreemurr & Chara & Undyne, Chara & Asriel Dreemurr, Chara & Undyne (Undertale)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the anniversary. (I usually wait a few days after writing to post)

Undyne- having been practically raised by Asgore- was very close to his children. And despite what you’d guess by her general attitude and demeanor, she _could_ be observant when she wanted to be. She just rarely had the incentive.

She noticed things about Chara that should have been obvious, but weren’t. She noticed the way they desperately seeked the approval of those around them. She noticed the way the light in their eyes died a little more each time someone brought up the prophecy.

She wasn’t there for the buttercup incident. (A fact she’d forever curse) She wasn’t there, but she heard the account from Asriel, and saw the self loathing in their eyes.

She tried to help them the only way she knew how- she told them they were great, that their future was bright and they were cool even if they _were_ kind of a nerd. She told them she believed they could do anything they set their mind to, and oh, how she wished she’d kept her damn mouth shut.

Undyne was standing vigil in the garden, mourning the loss of someone she’d considered a sibling, when Asriel returned through the barrier.

He staggered in, clutching the corpse of his sibling, and he begged her not to fetch his parents, not to let them see this.

...She agreed.

She asked him what had happened, to leave him in this state.

The story she’d tell later was that he’d been too kind to strike back against the humans, that he’d taken Chara’s SOUL in an unprompted act of grief, a desperate attempt to let them lie in the flowers of their village, one last time.

The story she’d tell later was not the story she was told now. The first thing Asriel said to her after his frantic pleas not to get his parents was a two word sentence that would haunt her to her grave.

She asked him “What happened? What did they DO to you?” and he looked away and said

“I failed,” And at the look in his eyes she knew in an instant that she wasn’t speaking to Asriel at all.

Undyne asked “How?” and Chara smiled softly.

“I suppose the prophecy was about someone else after all,”

And she said “Tell me,” and they did.

Chara (with Asriel occasionally interjecting) wove them a tale of violence and demons with the faces of children and what it feels like to find a family who loves you for what you are only to discover that you’re destined to give your life to free them from the prison they’d been trapped in so long.

And didn’t that make sense? They said. Wasn’t it fair?

After all, nothing truly good comes for free.

So they’d built a plan and they’d acted on it, and Asriel had agreed, and sure, he had some misgivings, but Chara knew he’d work them out as soon as he saw how awful humans were capable of being, even to the kindest, most deserving person on the planet.

Undyne listened with numb horror as they laid out in detail how they’d planned to deserve their family.

She listened, and she hugged them tight as they turned to dust.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally the set up for an AU where Toriel and Undyne swap places.


	2. Bonds Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asgore probably should have thought before he acted.

Undyne hid her clenched fists behind her back as she listened to the words of her king. Her whole body was tensed, as if she were prepared to leap into battle at any moment, and her teeth would have ground together if they’d been the right shape to do so.

She wore the armor befitting her position as captain of the royal guard, and her helmet was the only thing disguising her livid expression from the capital’s citizens.

Next to her, Queen Toriel’s face showed nothing but disgust towards her husband of several centuries. In this, the two were in complete agreement.

How could he do this? How could he dishonor the memory of his children like this?

You see, Asgore had just declared war. He’d said that any human that fell would be captured and brought to him to have their soul ripped from their body in revenge for the late prince. He’d done so without consulting either the guard captain who would be responsible for bringing the humans in, or his wife, who was supposed to be of equal power to the king.

His co-ruler and closest advisor had both been discarded in favor of the throes of grief.

\--

After the declaration, Undyne confronted him.

“How could you?!” She cried. What could have possibly possessed him to think that this was a good idea?

“I did what I had to do,” He said, speaking with finalty. 

“What you HAD to do? How could you POSSIBLY have needed to do THIS?” His face darkened, and his next words were laced with contempt.

“And what would you have had me do? Leave our people to lose all hope? Let us remain trapped down here forever?”

“If the price of freedom is MURDER, I’d happily live the rest of my life down here!” Undyne’s moral code is one she’d adopted from her liege. She didn’t understand how he could simply discard it because it no longer suited him.

“I will not leave the kingdom’s children to grow up in the darkness!” He yelled, finally releasing the illusion of calm. If Undyne herself hadn’t been filled with righteous fury, even she might have flinched from the anger in his voice.

“And what about YOUR children?! What about Chara? THEY were a human, since you’ve apparently FORGOTTEN. Your declaration wouldn't doom the humans who killed Asriel, it would doom the humans like THEM! The humans so lost and broken they climb a mountain where people are said to DISAPPEAR!” Her voice shook with emotion, and she had to pause for a moment to take in a ragged breath. Asgore used her momentary silence as a chance to interject.

“You don’t understand the pain of losing a child!” 

“I DON’T UNDERSTAND? THEY WERE MY SIBLINGS, YOU BASTARD! ASRIEL TURNED TO DUST IN MY ARMS AND YOU THINK I DON’T UNDERSTAND?!” She blinked quickly to stop the tears that threatened to run down her face. Quieter, she repeated:

“They were my siblings,” She turned away, and said, with a calm she did not feel:

“Whatever. Have your war, Asgore, but I won’t be a part of it,”

Undyne left the room, angrily wiping her streaming eyes and feeling more betrayed than she ever had. Behind her, Asgore sat heavily on his throne and wondered where it had all gone so wrong.


End file.
